In the same way the chief priests also, along with scribes and elders, were mocking him saying, ‘…He trusts in God, let god deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, ‘I am God's son." The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
Matthew 27:41.43
As with so many passages from the bible, it is important to read the surrounding passages to understand the meaning of an individual passage. In the proceeding passages, Matthew tells us of the crowd and their presence before Pontius Pilate, and Pilate realizing the he could not prevail against the crowd. The crowd wanted Jesus crucified and Barabbas released unto them.
In the group's mockery, the Priests, Scribes and Elders… wanted to show the gathered crowd that if Jesus ‘ claims of Himself as the worker of miracles, the Messiah –King, Son of God – were true, He would save Himself. Their thoughts may have been, if this man is God's Son, would God really abandon Jesus to die on the cross?
To truly understand an individual and their situation, we must ‘walk in their shoes.' Jesus could not forgive our sins, unless these sins were laid on Him. Our Lord carries our grief, our sorrows, and our transgressions because He was willing to die on the cross.
The Priests, Scribes and Elders felt that if Jesus could not help Himself then the crowd would see that Jesus was not the Messiah. The crowd would turn away from His teachings once He was gone.
Many times we want to ‘see ‘ and touch the miracle like the Priests, etc. wanted to see Jesus help Himself;, when in fact, we need to remember our faith and know that the miracle has occurred. In the end it really is all a matter of faith!
Cathy Stasny
